An Indian prisoner freed from a Pakistani jail claims 3 Indian women in Kot Lakhpat jail.

June 23, 2017 04:05 PM

Kot lakhpat Jail, Lahore

Chandigarh: An Indian prisoner freed from a Pakistani jail has claimed to have seen three Indian women in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail. “I was surprised to find that there are three Indian women prisoners in Kot Lakhpat jail. Out of them, two have become mentally retarded,“ said Abdul Mazid, who reached Attari on Thursday after being released from a Pakistani prison, to TOI report.

Sohan Lal, who had crossed border form Jammu and Kashmir, said he was also sentenced for four years. “ I had some misunderstanding following which the village sarpanch and police pummelled me. I went to international border and was arrested by the Pakistan Rangers,“ he said. He also claimed that many Indian prisoners have become mentally ill due to torture and solitary confinement. “We are also sons of India and our government should give some priority to get its nationals released from Pakistani jails,“ Sohan said.

Mazid, Suraj Ram, Sohan Lal and Mohammad Maqbool Lone were the Indian civilian prisoners released by Pakistan upon completion of their jail terms. He informed that the two mentally-retarded Indian women were sometimes given medical treatment and he saw another Indian woman while he was being taken to court.

“I have never seen these women being given counselor access in the jail,“ he said, adding that they were not allowed to even get closer to them. Mazid, who claimed to have crossed the international border by mistake, was awarded four-year imprisonment but he had to spend two more years in a transit camp before being finally released.

He said there were few Indian prisoners who were tortured in jail. “I have seen a few tied to wooden blocks and a few in solitary confinements,“ he said.

Sohan Lal, who had crossed border form Jammu and Kashmir, said he was also sentenced for four years. “ I had some misunderstanding following which the village sarpanch and police pummelled me. I went to international border and was arrested by the Pakistan Rangers,“ he said. He also claimed that many Indian prisoners have become mentally ill due to torture and solitary confinement. “We are also sons of India and our government should give some priority to get its nationals released from Pakistani jails,“ Sohan said.

Lone, another civilian from J&K, was awarded 10-year imprisonment for `mistakenly' crossing the international border. He said the governments of both the nations should be sympathetic to their nationals who were lodged in each other's jails. (From Times of India)